There’s just something about trains…

Setting out on a road trip from Victoria, British Columbia to Canmore, Alberta last May, I was hoping to capture some great landscape shots. I would be passing through some of the most scenic areas of British Columbia and Alberta, through the heart of the Canadian Rockies. Pretty soon, however, I started noticing all the trains along the way and how they seemed to add the perfect element to a landscape. Mountains are wonderful, but I quickly became fascinated by the Canadian Pacific locomotives.

Crossing the Columbia River

Above: a Canadian Pacific freight train crossing the Columbia River at Revelstoke, British Columbia. This is close to the source of the Columbia, which eventually reaches the Pacific Ocean some 2,500 km from here.

I started searching out scenes with trains. People gave me tips, like where to catch shots of trains with reflections on the water. Sometimes I would set up beside the road and wait for hours for that perfect shot.

Three locomotives pulling a long freight train leave one tunnel and immediately enter the next. At Eagle Pass, near Revelstoke, BC.

I did capture some nice shots without trains – like Emerald Lake with snow remaining in early May.

Now and then a Bald Eagle would fly past and I just had to go ‘click’, you know?

…but when it’s all said and done, there’s just something about trains!

I hope you enjoyed these photos and I’d like to offer you an HD Wallpaper download of Level Crossing, the first image in this post – free for personal use. Thank you!